


Infinite zeros

by Levisrightsword



Series: Infinite zeros [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Little bit of angst, Love Triangles, M/M, Mathematicians, Natsu is a matchmaker, Oikawa Tooru is a genius, So is Hinata Shouyou, i don't know how to tag, kuroo is a chemist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:15:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29989623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levisrightsword/pseuds/Levisrightsword
Summary: Hinata Shoyo has always adored numbers. It wasn't that surprising that he followed his heart all the way to MIT. Life is good, it's never been better. His research is going smoothly, he's just become a TA, and his relationship is thriving. What's wrong, you ask? While taking a trip back to Japan for his mom's wedding, Shoyo soon realized that the past hasn't stayed in the past and old emotions are truly hard to bury.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Series: Infinite zeros [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2206017
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	1. I'm back

Hinata Shoyo was staring again. Well, he had been staring for the past few weeks if he were being honest. But no matter the intensity of his gaze, the spirals did not seem willing to spill their secrets and reveal the simple formula Hinata knew lay in between the complex lines and geometry, tucked away for him to find it at last. Hinata lay out his hundredth sigh of the day and kept on staring at the blackboards adorning the entire wall of his office, a piece of chalk resting comfortably in between his thumb and forefinger, the weight of it familiar. What am I missing, he thought to himself, going back to the beginning of his calculations, trying to find a pesky little error to fix and finally solve this damn theorem.  
Hinata was so focused on the menacing boards in front of him, he didn’t even realize the heavy wooden door of his office being pushed open and a tall man with chocolate-brown hair walking in. “Yahoo,” Oikawa said, making his presence known. Hinata was utterly shocked he hadn’t noticed Oikawa coming in. “Hey,” Hinata replied deftly, too focused on his boards and numbers. For anyone who knew Hinata, or Oikawa and mathematicians really, knew well this wasn’t out of rudeness but rather an all-consuming need to make sense of the numbers. Whenever a new theorem got put on the boards, a fire gets lit in each of their veins, burning away at them until the problem is solved.  
“Have you packed everything?” Oikawa asked as he moved to stand beside Hinata, his eyes beaming to the boards and the equations on them. “Hmm,” Oikawa murmured. “Did you apply Gobner’s basis before the schemes?”  
“Yeah I already did that,” Hinata was getting impatient. He threw the piece of chalk in his hand on the mahogany desk in the corner of the room. The small white cylinder dropped on the concerning pile of disarrayed papers, post-it notes, and even more hastily-written equations.  
“Anyway,” Oikawa said briskly, snapping out of the trance he was sure to fall for if he looked at the boards any longer. “Have you packed everything?”  
“Huh?” was Hinata’s brilliant response. To be completely honest, Hinata wasn’t paying a lot of attention to his friend, his mind still lost between the meticulously drawn curves on the expansive boards. Oikawa merely stood there, in the middle of Hinata’s office, at a loss of words. Hinata just kept staring off into space, trying to imagine the long sequences consisting of ones and zeros, not sure if he would get any decent sleep tonight with his mind moving a mile a minute. Oikawa took a few steps to stand directly in front of Hinata, and, very silently, said, “Our flight is three hours, Shoyo. Even Takeru isn’t this dense.”  
“What?” Hinata snapped. “Three hours? How the fuck did I not notice?”  
“Well, if you looked outside for a minute,” judgement dripped from Oikawa’s words as he gestured to the windows behind Hinata’s desk. “Maybe you would’ve noticed the lack of a blinding fireball known as the sun.”  
Ok, Oikawa had a point. Whenever Hinata got focused on a sequence though, all of his--admittedly limited--rationality jumped out of a window, not to be seen until he figured out the answer. Hinata hurried left and right, taking papers from his desk, past solutions scattered on the floor below the boards, picking up some sticky notes with potential breakthrough ideas scratched on them and trying to squeeze them all into his brown, off-the-shoulder leather bag.  
“Hey, don’t just stand there!” Hinata pointed at Oikawa who was leaning against Hinata’s desk, slightly snickering.  
\--  
By some miracle, Hinata made it to his apartment in Newtone Court, panting and out of breath. Even though his place wasn’t that far from his office at the heart of the MIT campus, Hinata had run at full speed, his bag and papers flung over his shoulder, yelling at Oikawa that he would meet the older man at the airport.  
Hinata shuffled his keys, trying to find the right one. He finally got the key in the lock and shouldered the door open. He stumbled over his feet, trying to take off his shoes as fast as he could while letting his bag fall to the floor.  
“Babe?” Hinata called out. “You home?”  
“I’m in here,” came Alex’s muffled response from the bedroom. Hinata picked his way to the master bedroom, making sure to pick up any discarded papers with equations and graphs on them on his way. He walked through the door frame, taking off his sweater in sweep motion and kissed Alex’s forehead.  
“You forgot we had a flight, didn’t you,” said Alex matter of factly, not even bothering to pose it as a question, although one of his eyebrows beautifully arched. Shoyo’s face blushed red and he looked down. It wasn’t his first time getting lost in his graphs and equations. The first time it happened, Alex nearly broke up with him when he almost didn’t make their flight to Rio, thinking Hinata had ghosted him on the day of their trip. Oikawa almost crashed his new Audi three times trying to get Hinata to the airport in time, so the ginger could explain to a nearly crying Alex the whole situation and apologize for his stupidity.  
“You’re an MIT mathematician, Shoyo,” Alex had quietly sobbed into Hinata’s neck. Shoyo felt horrible and he constantly apologized for the next three weeks even though Alex forgave him when they arrived in Rio. But Shoyo wouldn’t give up, he had to truly make it up to Alex and earn his trust again. On their last night in Rio, Hinata rented the entire beach beside their hotel. Hinata grabbed Alex’s hands and half-dragged him towards the sandy plain. They were wearing their swim trunks and thin shirts they were too lazy to fully button. They walked on the warm sand hand in hand until the two-person table and chairs Hinata had prepared earlier came into view. Their main course was elegantly laid out and tall glasses of wine awaited them. Hinata pulled out Alex’s chair, and before he moved to sit in his own chair, he lightly kissed the back of Alex’s neck, biting his soft skin. They ate, laughed, and drank, enjoying every second of their time together and later, when they were a mess of tangled limbs and sheets, Hinata couldn’t stop himself saying ‘I love you' to the taller boy.  
“Don’t worry, I already packed your bags,” Alex said while folding another item of clothing and carefully placing it in the open bag in front of him. Hinata’s heart melted and he threw himself at Alex, toppling them both on the bed. “You’re a lifesaver,” Hinata sang as he showered Alex’s face in small kisses.  
“C’mon, we gotta get to the airport,” Alex managed to get out in between Hinata’s onslaught of affection. “Tooru’ll be pissed if we’re late again.”  
Hinata immediately stopped. If there was one thing Hinata hadn’t managed to get used to over the years, it’s definitely a pissed off Oikawa. He began remembering the time a doctoral student had deleted all of Oikawa’s proofs to show to his fellow the following day and Hinata shuddered. Both boys resumed their work in a hurry to pack everything and make it in time to catch their plane and not have to face Oikawa’s wrath. By some miracle, Hinata managed to get every paper, book, and hard drive he would need to resume his research while back in Tokyo.  
\--  
The soft sheets Hinata was tangled in were warm to the touch. He tossed and turned, trying to snuggle closer into the hard body next to him. He tossed and turned some more and finally came face to face with the mysterious man sleeping beside him. The man’s eyes were such an intense blue, like the night sky full of his favourite constellations, that Hinata could get lost in them. He had seen these eyes before, somewhere, sometime. But one thing Hinata knew, was that they weren’t Alex’s light blue orbs that always reminded him of sunny picnic days. No, these eyes had lightning trapped inside of them with the way they zapped through Hinata’s body and made him shiver all over. These could only belong to one person, and Hinata refused to fall inside this rabbit hole yet again.  
The ginger woke with a start, almost letting out a muffled gasp. He looked around, taking in his bearings and trying to figure out where he was. He felt his hand being squeezed and found Alex’s long fingers wrapped around his own. He remembered now. They were on a plane and Hinata’s legs were cramped from sitting too long, his head gently rested on Alex’s shoulder.  
Suddenly, Hinata was overwhelmed with guilt and the tops of his ears flushed crimson in shame. Here he was, hand in hand with this brilliant, gorgeous man, a man who loved every piece of Shoyo, and he was dreaming about eyes that he shouldn’t even remember this vividly. Here he was, still not completely over a love that only burned and left him scarred.  
Hinata brought their intertwined fingers close to his lips and laid a small peck on Alex’s knuckles. The motion caused the taller boy’s eyes to flutter open and Hinata basked in the warmth and glory of the smile Alex reserved only for him. The smile that let loose a swarm of butterflies in his belly every single time. “Good morning,” whispered Alex.  
“Morning,” Hinata murmured, facing upward in order to kiss his boyfriend. Alex’s lips were soft against his mouth. Hinata’s tongue licked the seam of Alex’s lips, silently asking for permission which Alex quickly granted. Their tongues shared a dance unique to them, moving lazily back and forth, exploring each other’s mouths as if it were their first kiss.  
Hinata pushed against his lips once again before pulling back, “you’re absolutely going to love Tokyo.”  
“I know,” Alex replied, squeezing Hinata’s hand tighter.  
Hinata spent the remainder of their flight reminiscing about all of his good memories in Tokyo. He vividly remembered his first night in his and Kenma’s apartment when Kuroo and Bokuto had thrown a massive house party. He and Kenma were cleaning bits of glitter and bent red drinking cups in peculiar spots for weeks after. He also remembered the time he nagged Tsukishima so much that he finally agreed to go clubbing with them, The Tokyo natives obviously chose the night club, and even though Hinata mostly remembers the blinding headache he got from the night, he misses his friends and how carfree they were, even if only for a few hours. But Hinata really missed being only a train away from his childhood home and little sister. God he missed Natsu. They constantly facetimed, but going back home, hugging her, ruffling her bright orange hair so similar to his own, and falling back into their familiar back and forth banter was just something Hinata desperately missed.  
\--  
“Onii-chan,” Natsu cried as she flung herself on Hinata. The minute she’d seen him and Alex coming down the escalator, she had started running, expertly slipping past people in the crowded airport. “I’ve missed you so much, Sho,” Natsu softly murmured into Hinata’s collar, a single tear wetting the white fabric.  
“Don’t tell me you’ve gone soft Nat,” Hinata teased, knowing it would stop Natsu from crying further. Natsu was the most competitive person Hinata knew, even more than Oikawa. It only took a few words to rile her up and any sentiments she may have felt would be gone in an instant. Suddenly, he felt a sting on his shoulder from Natsu’s well-landed punch. “Ow,” He said, feigning hurt. “What was that for you demon?”  
Natsu smiled, and burst out laughing, “You’re still such a weenie Nii-chan.” Hinata smiled in return. Seeing Natsu smile always filled him with joy, even if it was at his cost. “I missed you too sis,” Hinata kissed the top of her head and finally let her down. Natsu immediately went up to Alex and Oikawa who were standing a few steps behind Hinata. She hugged the tall men simultaneously and proceeded to engage in an intricate handshake with Alex that took nearly two minutes. Natsu was beaming, her smile stretching big and wide and Hinata found himself grinning from ear to ear as well.  
“Where’s Tak?” Natsu asked, looking behind Oikawa and straining her neck to see the people still coming out of the gates.  
Oikawa shouldered his leather bag, “he’s in Europe. But don’t worry, his trip will end by next week and he’ll come straight to Tokyo, Natsu-chan.”  
“Europe!” Natsu exclaimed. “What the heck is he doing in Europe?”  
“She’s as lively as ever,” Alex mused from behind him, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. Hinata looked at his sister who was nearly climbing up Oikawa and trying to ruffle his carefully tousled hair and sighed. “No don’t do that,” Alex’s tone had gone slightly serious. “There’s absolutely no reason for you to be guilty, Sho. Your dreams were in Boston, you had to leave.”  
Hinata nodded his head, but mostly to reassure himself. He knew Alex was right and he hadn’t done anything wrong, but he still felt guilty sometimes, even six years after moving to Boston.  
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Hinata said with one last look at his energetic sister. “Let’s go, mom’s probably waiting outside.” With that, he took his boyfriend’s hand and started towards the big sliding doors. He was back in Tokyo, and he was going to enjoy every second of it.  
\--  
Hinata wasn’t drunk. Sure, he had a pleasant buzz, but he hadn’t drunk enough to actually hallucinate. Hinata slowly closed his eyes, prayed to whatever God was listening, and hoped when he opened his eyes again, everything would go back to normal. He opened his eyes to the party going on in his childhood home with all of his friends acting as wild and crazy as they did in high school. With the music blasting from Natsu’s giant speakers, Tanaka-san and Nishinoya-san were practically jumping up and down on the kitchen island to the beat, hyping everybody up. Yamaguchi, Yachi, and Kenma were in the corner debating about a particular game, their words slurred due to the drinks in their hands. The most surprising though was how Tsukishima was absolutely living it. He and Kuroo were dancing just as much as Noya and Tanaka, but Hinata thought the tall blond had more shots than he should have if his carefree movements and lack of composure were any indications.  
“Fuck, I missed you guys,” Hinata heard Oikawa exclaiming, his hands wrapping around both Hanamaki’s and Matsukawa’s necks. “Why the hell did I move across the world again?”  
“You didn’t want to be a basic bitch?” Makki proposed.  
“You were too dramatic for Miyagi?” Mattsun added, face expressionless.  
“I hate you both,” Oikawa gruntled as he hugged their shoulders tighter, a faint smile tugging at his lips.  
But these were all normal. Hinata was used to his friends getting absolutely hammered and going wild. What he didn’t expect, was a tall, young man with piercing blue eyes, eyes that Hinata could not forget no matter how much he tried, to be standing in his doorway, looking aloof and even hesitant. Of all the things Hinata had planned to do while back in Japan, meeting Kageyama was not one of them.  
He blinked rapidly, slowly shaking his head a few times, trying to get rid of the fog descending over his sense. When he opened his eyes yet again, he nearly gasped because Kageyama was still there and while Hinata was acting like a stupid drunk thinking he was imagining things, the volleyball player had moved closer, standing at the edge of the designated dance floor. Hinata looked at him now, his eyes wide. Kageyama hadn’t changed that much from high school, but in a way, he was completely different. The raven head was taller than when they were teammates, and his hair had grown a bit, his bangs falling onto his eyes the way Hinata always got the urge to brush them back. He stood differently too, Hinata acknowledged, as he is finally confident in every part of himself and no longer second-guessing every step. Kageyama was wearing very dark jeans, ripped at the knees and a white, oversized “Schweiden Addlers” hoodie. Before Hinata could chastise himself for being rooted in spot, Sugawara also noticed their old teammate.  
“Kageyama?” Suga asked wondrously. It appeared, he, just like Hinata, was taken aback by Kageyama’s sudden visit. Sugawara shook his head and clapped Kageyama on the back, apparently over his initial shock. “How have you been?”  
“I’m alright,” Kageyama replied, still hesitant. At least one thing hadn’t changed since high school. “Ahh, Natsu, umm, invited me,” the volleyball player murmured. He turned his head to the left, trying to look down when his eyes directly stared into Hinata’s. The ginger almost let out a gasp, he had nearly forgotten how intense Kageyama’s gaze could be. How the dark blues would lure you in like a stormy sea, and then crash all around you, engulfing you under the ruthless waves. Hinata had drowned too many times to fall for them again. But he would be damned if he let that king affect him after all he’d been through; Hinata refused. He inhaled deeply and put on the brightest smile he could possibly conjure and walked towards his former partner, his first love.  
Even though his feet felt like lead, Hinata marched forward, taking two cups from where Tanaka-san and Noya-san had apparently begun filming a tik tok video. He knew he must have been redder than a headlight, but the low lights would cover his blush, thankfully. “Hey,” he said, handing the taller man the red cup, standing back and taking a sip of his own drink. “It’s been a while.”  
Kageyama took the cup out of Hinata's hand, nodding in thanks. “It has. When did you come back?”  
“Yesterday. But Natsu doesn’t believe in jet lag, and she believed my welcome home party simply couldn’t wait.”  
“But, I am surprised to see you here,” Hinata continued, taking another gulp of his drink, enjoying the burn of it down his throat. “Don’t you have practice early in the morning?”  
“I-I- we have the week off,” Kageyama stammered. He finally looked into Hinata’s rich brown eyes, his cheeks slightly flushed from the alcohol and the warm summer night, “how are you?”  
“Same old same old. I’m either standing in front of the board trying to prove the Hodge conjecture or mentoring a bunch of MIT brats.”  
“If I remember correctly, you used to be an MIT brat not long ago babe,” came the rich gravel of Alex’s voice, almost making Hinata jump.  
“Yo, Alex, what’s up man?” Tanaka said, jumping off the island and beaming towards the blond.  
“Ryu, what the hell are you doing in Japan? Weren’t you supposed to be in Seoul for the convention?” Alex inquired. “Nah man, we wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Noya fist-bumped Alex before the blond came to stand behind Hinata, weaving one hand around the shooter man’s waist, pulling him close.  
“Who’s this?” Alex said, nodding his head at Kageyama.  
Alex was a liar. He knew exactly who Kageyama was. He had patiently sat on the couch in the days when they were still just friends, listening to Hinata cry his heart out over the blue-eyed setter, giving the ginger as much time as he needed to get over his heartbreak.  
Kageyama looked at the outstretched hand for a second before taking it on his own. “Kageyama Tobio,” came his curt response.  
“No way, you’re that setter, right? The one who plays--”  
“Tobio-chan!” The high-pitched shriek was followed by a wickedly fast Natsu. She flung herself onto Kageyama, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You came.”  
“Of course I came, fireball. Now, tell me, did you win that game against Seijoh?”  
“Obliterated them through and through,” Natsu said with a smirk.  
“Atta girl. Did you practice on minus-tempo?”  
“Damn straight I did. What took you so long? I almost thought you wouldn’t show up.”  
Ok, Hinata was definitely hallucinating. Natsu and Kageyama were friends? When the hell did that happen?  
“I’m sorry, am I missing something?” Hinata’s confusion could not be mistaken. Pointing between his little sister and his former teammate, “when did this happen?”  
“Kags helped me out with volleyball when you left, Onii-chan. Anyyywayyyy, mom said I can’t be here cause of the booze so I’m going to Hana’s house. Enjoy,” Natsu smirked at her older brother, turned on her heel, and left.  
He was going to kill her.  
But not tonight. Tonight, Hinata throws back the rest of his drink, closes his eyes as it burns down his throat and settles into his stomach, looks at no one in particular and says, “I wanna dance.”


	2. New possibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He sighed and rubbed his eyes once again. “Alright, fine. But you have to pick me up--and text me the details so I can prepare.”  
> “Be there at nine,” Makki said, victory dripping from every syllable.   
> Oikawa threw his phone on the small, square table next to him and flopped down onto the bed, warm among the mess of sheets and pillows. Despite the throbbing behind his eyes and his overall better judgement, he couldn’t stop himself wondering who else from his old friends will be at the club later tonight.

The first time Oikawa got piss-drunk, he woke up inside Makki’s tub with a throbbing head, his clothes all crumpled and ruined, completely hung-over. His eyes couldn’t fully focus, and the light hitting the bright white tiles was nearly blinding and certainly wasn’t helping his searing headache. Nevertheless, he gripped the sides of the quite spacious tub in Makki’s French country-themed master washroom, groaned as his world shook once more and finally got out of the ceramic contraption. As he made his way down the double staircase, his hand lightly gripping the railings, he saw the Hanamaki’s beautifully decorated and once pristine-looking house in a state of utter disaster. Broken neon lights, mounds of sparkling glitter, and even a few lost coats and tops littered the stairs and the entirety of the down floor. Even the discarded and empty bottles of the Hanamaki’s stocked home bar every party-goer had overindulged in were strewn on the long mahogany dining room table as though mocking Oikawa and his hangover. Oikawa silently chuckled at how screwed his friend was going to be in a few hours.   
He walked down the stairs and rummaged through the front closet, trying to find the non-party shoes Mattsun had suggested he bring when he got a look at himself in the mirror in front of him. He was a mess, and not the cute type either. His hair was seven kinds of dishevelled and he looked as though he had spent the night in a ditch and possibly not slept in four days. The dark circles under his eyes were more prominent than that time he was preparing for the mathematics olympiad and refused to sleep in fear he would forget everything in his slumber. Forget Makki, his mom was going to kill him.  
Oikawa had made his way, albeit extremely sluggishly, to the gym where they had early Saturday morning practice. Iwaizumi took one look at him, and it suffices to say he got his ass handed to him and was banished to the corner with Makki and Mattsun, equally hungover, to do endless laps.   
Over the years, Oikawa had vowed to never consume alcohol again. However, there would always come a time where the shadows constantly following him became too dark, too stifling, too suffocating, that he couldn’t resist the quiet oblivion tequila offered. So, statistically speaking, this time isn’t going to be any different.   
Oikawa groaned as his phone went off for the fourth time, the obnoxious ringtone Hinata found absolutely infuriating hacking at his foggy head.   
With a heaving sigh, he found the willpower to hoist himself up on the tangled sheets, weakly rub at his eyes to clear his surroundings, and finally answered his ringing phone.   
“Hello?” His voice was strained and groggy, missing the usual tilt of exaggerated cheerfulness.   
“Still not a morning person, Kawa?” Makki chuckled.  
Oikawa groaned, his head still swimming, his eyes too sensitive to the early morning light slipping past the soft and billowing curtains.  
“What do you want Makki?”  
“Is that any way to speak with your best friend and loyal drinking buddy?” How Makki could be in such a good mood this early in the morning is one of the greatest mysteries in Oikawa’s life.   
“Come out with us tonight.”  
“I’m never drinking again.”  
“Glad you haven’t changed one bit Kawa.” Oikawa could hear the smile in Makki’s voice, could imagine him sitting on one of his island stools, matcha in hand, his lips tugging upward, his eyes sparkling with the thought of causing mischief like old times. “We both know that’s not a promise you’re going to keep.”  
Damn Makki and his vast knowledge of Oikawa’s extremely poor restraint when it came to booze and getting lost in a room full of people looking to forget.   
He sighed and rubbed his eyes once again. “Alright, fine. But you have to pick me up--and text me the details so I can prepare.”  
“Be there at nine,” Makki said, victory dripping from every syllable.   
Oikawa threw his phone on the small, square table next to him and flopped down onto the bed, warm among the mess of sheets and pillows. Despite the throbbing behind his eyes and his overall better judgement, he couldn’t stop himself wondering who else from his old friends will be at the club later tonight.   
\--  
“Good morning,” Hinata said in greeting, not taking his eyes off the iPad in front of him. The Stanford math department had released a new article about algebraic geometry and he had promised Dr. Fernandez to look over it. “Sleep Well?”   
“Yes,” Alex replied, sleep still tugging at the corner of his eyes. His tousled blond hair falling to his eyes and touching the top of his elegant cheekbones.   
Hinata stood up from the chair he was occupying, “I made coffee,” he murmured against Alex’s soft lips.  
“I love you,” Alex moaned, and headed straight for the large mug of coffee waiting for him on the oval-shaped kitchen table. To be honest, Alex hadn’t slept that well. He knew he was being stupid, absolutely ludicrous, but for the life of him, he couldn’t forget the way Kageyama had looked at Shoyo. It was obvious there is history between them, but something told Alex it isn’t all in the past. He instinctively shook his head, as though trying to get rid of cobwebs, and empty his head of this bull shit. He and Sho had talked and talked and talked about their pasts, shared every experience they had before meeting, and worked through all of the various scars life had given them; he had nothing to worry about, even though he couldn’t stop thinking about how Shoyo’s breath had hitched slightly when he was about to talk with the blue-eyed setter. It was nothing, his insecurities were playing tricks on him again.   
“Sooo, I know you might still be tired, but I couldn’t sleep and I made an entire week-long plan, Shoyo said, coming to stand behind him, arms circling his waist. “I thought we could spend the day with mom and Akito-san and then I can show you around Miyagi.” Hinata pressed a gentle kiss to Alex’s left shoulder blade, making the blond shiver lightly.  
“Sounds great, babe.”  
“And when the wedding is over, we can stay in Tokyo for the rest of the trip and I can show you all the spots we used to get trashed in,” Alex could feel Hinata’s lips go up in a devilish smirk.   
“Is that so?” Alex was smiling now as well, his eyes lit, and suddenly famished, but not for eggs. He turned around and grabbed his boyfriend by the waist, successfully hoisting him up onto the counter behind him. Hinata wrapped his arms around Alex’s neck, bringing him even closer.   
“Seriously, right now?” Hinata asked incredulously. “Someone can see us.”  
“No one’s home,” Alex replied, and finally crashed their lips together.  
He tasted as he always did, like pomegranate chapstick, freshly ground coffee beans, and Shoyo. He licked at the seam of Shoyo’s lips, the ginger opening up for him with a long moan. Everything, all the old insecurities and bad memories, faded away as he held his boyfriend in his arms, their lips moving in perfect sync. Alex kissed Hinata’s lips, the corner of his mouth, and made his way down to this throat, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses in his wake. He took his time worshiping the spot where his elegant neck connected to his shoulder, right above his right collarbone. He tightened his lips around the spot, using his tongue to lick over the faint marks his teeth left behind.   
Hinata groaned, and clutched Alex tighter, now wrapping his legs around his boyfriend’s waist. With Hinata just beginning his fellowship and Alex working on the clock with his team on gravitational waves, on top of planning to spend nearly an entire month in Japan for the wedding, they hadn’t had time to do this. To wake up to the soft rays of the sun and the sweet scent of cherry blossoms, enjoy their morning coffee, and maybe get laid before jumping back into their mutually busy schedules.   
“Maybe we should go upstairs,” Hinata murmured, his voice strained, eyes unfocused. His fingers were tangled in Alex’s soft locks, tugging to get his attention.   
“Gross, get a room,” came Natsu’s shriek from the foyer.   
“Natsu, what are you doing here?” Hinata asked frantically, looking absolutely mortified. He scrambled out of Alex’s arms, hastily buttoning the top of his shirt that Alex had opened earlier.   
“Hana just dropped me off,” Natsu said. “No amount of soap will ever be enough.”   
Alex dropped his head in defeat. It appears life is cock-blocking him yet again.   
“Natsu, I love you, but you have the worst timing ever.” With his flushed cheeks, dishevelled hair, and the new-forming red spot on his neck, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what exactly they were doing only moments before.   
“Oh come on, I got you an empty house last night, Sho,” Natsu said, now literally washing her eyes. “It’s not my fault you guys are insatiable.”  
“Coffee?” Alex asked, going over to the pot still holding the rich, dark liquid.   
“Yes, please,” Natsu said, her voice muffled because of the towel on her face. “And before I forget, the dress fitting is at four and the rehearsal dinner is right after. Oh, and mom has gone all bridezilla.”  
“Fuck,” Shoyo cursed softly under his breath. He turned away from the counter and reassumed his seat behind the kitchen table. “Eat up, everyone,” he said. “We’re gonna need some fuel to face her.”  
\--  
There was seriously something wrong with Kageyama. The tall setter had been absolute crap, and that was sugar-coating it--hell, buried under a mound of candies and sweets was more like it. He had messed-up every single combination. He couldn’t set the ball to the degree that worked best for Ushijima-san, and he sent the ball far too low when practicing with Hoshiumi-san. It got so bad that coach yelled at him on three different occasions, and finally when he could no longer suffer through the pain of watching Kageyama butcher another set, he let them all go early.   
“What the hell is going on in there?” the coach asked furiously, pointing at the setter’s head.   
“Nothing, coach.”  
“Maybe that’s the problem, damn it.” Although coach’s tone hinted at barely contained anger, Kageyama knew he was merely concerned. Whatever faults Kageyama has, being unfocused during practice or, god-forbid, a game, is not one of them. He refuses to be that undisciplined, to not only make a fool out of himself but to waste his team’s precious time and effort.   
But he couldn’t help himself, his head was just moving too fast for him to even get the chance to reign in his thoughts, put them in a neat, little black box for future pondering when he returned to his dark, cold apartment on the twenty-fifth floor like he always did.   
He couldn’t stop himself from thinking, of getting lost in him; it’s always him. No matter how hard he tried--and he tried like hell, he couldn’t get Hinata out of his head. He thought he was long over the rabbit hole that is Hinata Shoyo, but for some reason, it seems Kageyama is still falling, with no floor near in sight. He couldn’t help himself thinking about his mesmerizing doe eyes, or the small smile he had flashed that was as bright as the fucking sun. He couldn’t stop thinking of Hinata in the arms of that blond American.   
He gritted his teeth for the umpteenth time that day and then mentally smacked himself for getting frustrated in the first place. He has no right to feel angry or betrayed. He has absolutely no right to feel as though someone has sucker-punched him. Nevertheless, Kageyama feels all of these drowning emotions and then some.   
“You were the one who let go,” he mutters to himself, apparently stooping to that level where he’s beginning to talk to himself for christ’s sake. But the voice of reason at the back of his head is right, of course. He was the one who let go, the one who was too stuck in his own head, too afraid of what others would think.   
Restless and bursting with unspent energy and frustration, Kageyama makes his way to the sleek, black corvette in the parking lot outside of the gym. He was driving towards home but, soon enough, found himself parked in front of his favourite bar.   
Kageyama knows he shouldn’t be drinking two nights in a row, knows he’s going to get so much shit from coach and Ushijima-san, but he won’t be able to stop getting lost in Hinata and all the “what if”s if he doesn’t get a drink right now. So Kagyema walks towards the bar with the low lights and wooden floor, plops himself at the counter, and drinks.   
Even though the whiskey burns down his throat and warms his insides, it doesn’t do much in burning away any lingering thoughts of the boy he once had, the boy he lost just because he was fucking afraid. He orders another glass, and another, and another. None of them do him any good. Throwing back his latest drink and grimacing at the slight burn, he makes his way home.   
He slumps onto the bed, not even changing his clothes before falling into a restless sleep. But even in the darkness, he can’t escape the smouldering gaze of his first--and only--real love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh, the humiliation. I cannot imagine a younger sibling walking in on me. And I don't even know why, but I get tortured-genius vibes from Oikawa, so I think it's gonna get a little angsty to be honest. And Kageyama is brewing draaaamaaaa!!  
> I love hearing from you guys, so leave a comment below with any thoughts or constructive criticism!!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic. I was literally doing calculus when I thought, "hmm.\, Oikawa is probably good at math." and then the gears just started moving and I was also feeling a little angsty, so stay with me. Also, tell me what you thought about it :)


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